Molasses-gate.



Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

INVENTOR.

WITNESS A TTORNEY UNITED STATES 'PAEN Ten.

HENRY B. SARGENT, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIG-NOR TO SARGENT &

COMPANY, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

MOLASSES-GATE.

270 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY B. SARGENT, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, having invented certain new and useful Improvements in Molasses-Gates, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to faucets, spigots, etc., and more particularly to what are known in the trade as molasses or oil gates in which a discharge spout or nozzle is provided with a swinging yoke or bail having a sliding valve plate or gate adapted to close and open the discharge passage when the yoke is suitably actuated.

The object of the invention is to provide improved means for locking the gate in the closed position by means of a padlock so as to prevent theft of the liquid content of cient construction in which it is merely necessary to pass the shackle or hasp of the padlock through a single part of the gate structure (not through two parts) in order to place the padlock in the locking position, said padlock when locked being located at the upper part of the gate so that it will not receive drippings from the discharge spout or nozzle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction in which the padlock cooperates directly with the sliding valve plate so that the latter is locked in a very direct manner.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a so-called molasses gate embodying my improvements, showing it locked in the closed position; Fig. 2 is a top plan View of Fig. 1; and Fig.- 3 is a vertical longitudinal section, showing the gate in the open position.

The gate selected for illustration has the usual spout or body portion 4, adapted to be screwed or otherwise secured in the barrel, cash or other receptacle (not shown) in connection with which the gate is to be used. A U-shaped yoke or bail 5 is pivoted or swiveled on the spout so as to swing ver- Specification of Letters Patent. yatgnted S t 26 Application filed May 3, 1916.

Serial No. 95,176.

tically, the end portions of the U being swlveled to the wall of the body portion or spout by means of lugs or trunnions 6 pro ectmg laterally from the sides of the body portion 4. The intermediate portion trunnions 6, the valve plate 7 being curved on a corresponding are so as to slide over the discharge portion of the spout with a tight fit. lVhen the yoke 5 is raised by the handle 10 into the position shown in Fig. 3, the opening 9 will be uncovered so that the liquid can be drawn from the receptacle, but when the yoke is moved down again into the position shown in Fig. 1, the plate 7 tightly covers the discharge opening so as to cut off the flow of liquid.

The body portion at and the yoke 5 are generally made of cast iron, the yoke being formed of two parts secured together by screws 11. Interposed between these two parts at the intermediate portion of the yoke is a coiled spring 12 seated ina cylindrical socket 13 formed partly in one of the yoke members and partly in the other. This spring engages the outer face of the valve plate or gate 7 so as to press it tightly' against the curved end surface of the spout which forms a seat for said plate in order to prevent leakage. An outward projection 14 on the valve plate 7 extends into the coil of the spring so as to maintain the parts in their proper relation. Furthermore. suitable stop means, which may comprise one or more stop members 15 on the yoke cooperating with one or more stop surfaces on the body portion 1, are employed to prevent the yoke from being swung downward beyond the position shown in Fig. 1. In other words, in order to open the gate it is necessary to raise the yoke and its valve plate, as shown in Fig. 3.

In order to lock the gate in the closed position shown in Fig. 1, I provide an opening or perforation 16 extending through the body portion 4 at a point above the valve plate when the latter occupies its closed position. In the particular form shown, the opening or perforation 16 extends through an enlargement 17 formed at the upper end of the curved part of the mouth portion 8. It will be observed that when the yoke is in the closed position, as shown in Fig. 1, the

valve plate '4' extends upward near but not 7 quite to the opening 16, which extends rearwardly from the curved seat on which the plate 7 is adapted to slide. hen the parts are in the closed position, the upper edge of the valve plate 7 lies so close to the opening or perforation 16 that if the shackle or hasp 18 of a padlock 19 is passed through said perforation, and the padlock then looked in the closed position, the valve plate 7 will be prevented from movin upward out of the closed position, because it will abut a portion of the shackle and be blocked thereby. in other words, the valve plate will be blocked against movement by that portion of the shackle which extends outward through the opening 16 from the curved valve seat and forwardly from said seat. Under these conditions, it will be impossible to open the gate until the padlock is unlocked, for, as previously explained, the downward movement of the yoke is prevented by the stop or stops 15.

It will be observed that the opening 16 extends to the curved face of the valve seat, and that it is so formed and arranged that the padlock shackle located therein will act as an eifective stop or abutment for the valve plate 7 when the padlock is in a partially inverted position, as shown in Figs 1 and 2, that is to sa when the padlock is so supported that the shackle is lowermost.

Preferably, the perforation 16 will not be very much greater in diameter than the padlock shackle, and said perforation will have an appreciable length, so that when the padlock is inserted therein, the shackle will be so supported as to provide an efi'ective abutment for limiting the movement of the valve plate.

It will be apparent that the construction described is a very simple and eflicient one, and that in addition to the fact that it is merely necessary to pass the shackle through one of the gate parts in order to lock the gate, the padlock when in the operative position is located above the discharge mouth so that it will not receive drippings therefrom. The perforation, eye or loop through which the padlock is passed can be very readily formed on the body portion of the spout at negligible expense, and it is not necessary to provide the movable part of the structure, 2'. 6., the yoke carrying the valve plate, with any special means for cooperating with the padlock. In the example illustrated, the yoke and the valve plate are of the ordinary form, and the valve plate has a plain upper edge to abut the padlock shackle, but changes may be made in the de tails of the construction without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the particular construction shown, the axis of the perforation or eye 16 is directed longitudinally of the spout, but this is not necessary in all cases.

lVhat I claim is:

1. The combination of a spout having a discharge opening in the end thereof and a valve seat adjacent said opening, a U-shaped yoke swiveled to the spout to swing up and down, and a valve plate carried by the intermediate portion of said yoke to slide over said valve seat and adapted to cover and uncover said discharge opening, said spout being provided with a padlock-receiving opening which extends to the valve seat at a point adjacent one edge of said valve plate when the latter is in the closed position, said padlock-receiving opening so constructed and arranged as to support a padlock shackle in such a position that a part thereof extends forwardly from the valve seat to constitute an abutment for the valve plate and to prevent an opening movement of said plate; substantially as described.

2. The combination of a spout having a discharge opening in the end thereof and provided with a curved valve seat adjacent said opening, a yoke swiveled to the spout to swing up and down, a valve plate carried by the yoke to slide over said valve seat and adapted to cover and uncover said discharge opening, a stop to prevent downward movement of the yoke beyond the closed position of said valve plate, said spout provided at the upper part of the discharge end thereof with a longitudinally directed padlock-receiving opening leading rearwardly from the valve seat at a point adj acent the upper edge of the valve plate when said valve plate is in the closed position, said padlock-receiving opening so formed and arranged as to support a padlock shackle in a position wherein a part of said shackle extends forwardly from the valve seat in blocking relation to the valve plate; substantially as described.

3. The'combination of a spout having a discharge opening a U-shaped yoke swiveled.

to said spout to swing in a vertical plane, a valve plate carried by said yoke and normally movable over said discharge openlng to control the same, and a padlock having.

a shackle passing through the discharge portion of the spout in a direction longitudinally of the spout and above and in close proximity to one edge of said plate when the plate is in the closed position, whereby the plate is adapted to abut said shackle so as to prevent the former from being raised to the open position; substantially as described.

a. The combination of arspout having a discharge opening in the end thereof and a curved valve seat adjacent said opening, a yoke swiveled to said spout on opposite sides thereof to swing up and down, a curved valve plate carried by the intermediate portion of said yoke to slide over said valve seat and adapted to cover and uncover said discharge opening, means to prevent downward movement of the yoke beyond the closed position of the valve plate, the discharge portion of the spout being provided at the upper part thereof with a longitudinal padlock-receiving opening leading rearwardly from the face of the valve seat adjacent the upper edge of the valve plate when the latter is in the closed position, and a padlock having a shackle extending through said opening, said padlock resting on the upper part of the spout with its shackle lowermost, and a portion of said shackle extending forwardly from the valve seat so as to constitute an abutment for the valve plate and prevent the latter from being moved to the open position; substantially as described.

5. The combination of a spout having a discharge opening in the end thereof and a valve seat adjacent said opening, a yoke swiveled to said spout to swing up and down, a valve plate carried by said yoke to slide over said valve seat and cover and uncover said discharge opening, means to prevent a downward movement of the yoke beyond the closed position of the valve plate, said spout provided at the upper part of the discharge portion thereof with a longitudinally directed opening or perforation extending rearwardly from the valve seat at a point close to the upper edge of the valve plate when the latter is in the closed position, and a padlock having a shackle located in said perforation or opening, the spout and the opening or perforation being so constructed and arranged as to support said padlock with its shackle lowermost, and with a portion of said shackle extending forwardly from the valve seat to constitute a stop for the valve plate; substantially as described. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand on the 1st day of May, 1916.

HENRY B. SARGENT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

